NEDO, Toshiba Infrastructure Systems & Solutions Corporation, PUES Corporation, HASETEC Corporation, and Oriental Consultants Global Co., Ltd., have started a demonstrative operation of a large EV bus system which can drive 30 km on a ten-minute charge in Putrajaya, Malaysia.

The large-sized EV buses are equipped with storage batteries that can be charged in a very short time and have a long lifespan. By demonstrating the system on EV buses, the project aims to realize a smart urban transportation system by improving its efficiency, and to deploy urban transportation package projects across a wide area.

Large EV buses used for the demonstration

1．Project Overview

Putrajaya, Malaysia's administrative capital and the site of the "Green City 2025" urban development project, is an ideal location to showcase EV buses in Malaysia and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) region. Against this backdrop, NEDO and the city agreed to collaborate on developing a smart urban transportation system by improving its efficiency in Putrajaya and the two parties signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) in July 2015. The project will demonstrate the new technology, including the super quick charging system and the long lifespan of the storage batteries.

The memorandum of understanding was amended in June 2016, taking into account of a new phase of demonstration using full-sized double-decker EV buses.
In the project, super quick chargers were installed at bus terminals in the city. The large EV buses, which are each 12 meters in length, will soon begin running on main routes. The performance of the super quick charging system and the lifespan of the storage butteries will be monitored throughout the demonstration. A demonstration plan of the full-sized double-decker EV buses is also underway for the next stage.

Utilizing Japanese technology and working in cooperation with local companies, NEDO aims to realize a smart urban transportation system by improving its efficiency in Malaysia. NEDO also hopes to contribute to creating an EV hub among ASEAN countries by showcasing the project, in addition to the wide-ranging deployment of urban transportation package projects.

Project overview

Period: 5 years, from February 2015 to February 2020

Budget: Approximately 3.6 billion Yen

Demonstration:

- Operation of large EV buses on main routes in Putrajaya. The EV buses are 12 meters long and include some double-decker vehicles.

- Installation of super quick chargers at bus terminals in the city.

- Introduction of a system to monitor the batteries' condition and charging status.

2．Start-up ceremony

To celebrate the start of the demonstration, a ceremony was held on August 28 (local time) in the city of Putrajaya. The ceremony was attended by Datuk Seri Adnan bin Haji Md Ikshan, Secretary General of Ministry of Federal Territories; Datuk Seri Haji Hasim Bin Haji Ismail, President of Putrajaya Corporation; Mr. Makoto Watanabe, Executive Director of NEDO; Mr. Isao Aoki of Toshiba Infrastructure Systems & Solutions Corporation; Mr.Kiyoto Takeda of PUES Corporation; Mr.Takashi Fujiwara of HASETEC Corporation; Mr.Yuichi Fukuoka of Oriental Consultants Global Co., Ltd and a participant from the Embassy of Japan in Malaysia. In addition, many other persons concerned with this project attended the ceremony.